Belt-shifter



No lvIodeL) 7 Q 2'SheetsSheet 1. I

' J. UANNING.

I BEALT SHIFTER. No. 367,891. Patented Aug. 9, 1887.

all who HOMW /J/d 2 SheetsSheet 2. J. GANNING. BELT SHIFTER.

(No Model.)

Pat entd Aug. 9, 1887.

q vbiimcoae o m1 6. Q/w/d/r N. PETERS. fihowkilhographen Wilmington. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J AMES CANNING, OF MONTPELIER, VERMONT.

BELT-SHIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 367,891, dated August 9, 1887.

Application filed January 1'], 1887. Serial No. 224,584. (No model.)

To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, J AMES OANNING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Montpelier, in the county of Washington and State of which is driven by the belt; and the invention consists in the construction,arrangement, and combination of parts substantially as will be hereinafter described, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.-

In the annexed drawings, illustrating my in vention, Figure 1 is a longitudinal side elevation of my improved belt-shifting devices, shown as applied to a driving-pulley and its belt, the latter being off the pulley. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a different mode of slackening and tightcningthe belt, so that the elevating-arms may act thereon. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the position of the belt when tightened and on the pulley. Fig. 4 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the pulley and its shifting mechanism. Fig. 5isa transverse sectionof the same, the driving-pulley being shown in dottedlines. Fig. 6 is an end view of the devices shown in Figs. 2 and 3 for tightening the belt.

Like lettersof reference designate like parts.

A represents an ordinary driving-pulley, and A its shaft.

B denotes the driving-belt, and G the pulley to which the belt communicates power from the driving-pulley A, for the purpose of actuating the machinery with which it may be connected.

Alongside the driving-pulley is situated a spider having radial arms or spokes. This spider maybe suspended loosely on the shaft, as in Fig. 1, or upheld by means of independent hangers with hollow hubs that do not touch the shaft, as shown in Fig. 5. Said spider is made of any convenient and suit-able form and construction. A preferable form is shown in the drawings, wherein it consists of disks D, situated adjacent to the driving-pulley and concentric therewith. To these disks the radiating arms E, F, and G are secured. Any number of the arms may be employed, as desired, it generally being found best to have them located along the peripheries of the disks for about half their length. The oppositelylocated arms on the two disks are connected together at their extremities by means of rods H, which preferably carry rollers H, the rods serving as spindles for the rollers, and the rollers extending across the face of the driving pulley at a convenient distance therefrom, said distance being regulated,as desired,by the predetermined length of the radial arms that carry the rollers.

The spider is rotated about its axis by means of a horizontal worm-shaft, I, having a handwheel, 2', and meshing withagcar, a, secured to the outer side of one of the disks D. The operator, by turning the hand-wheel, rotates the disks and carries the radial arms from a position where they are between the upper andilower parts of the belts and out of contact with them, as in Fig. 3, to a position where they rest beneath and in contact with the belt, (see Figs. 1, 2, and 4,) and thus elevate the same from the driving-pulley, so that the latterlmay revolve without touching the belt, and they also operate vice versa.

It is found in practice that the ordinary extent of space between the upper and lower portions of the driving-belt is hardly large enough to contain out of contact with said belt the arms and their rollers when in the full extended position that they occupy when raising the beltofl the pulley. It therefore becomes necessary to make one or more of these arms movable toward the'others and to associate-with them such accompanying devices as may be necessary to cause said movable arms to movetoward the others, and all the arms thus to be contracted into a narrower space at the time when they cease to elevate the belt and pass into a state of rest between the upper and lower portions of the belt, and also to expand the movable arm or arms and widen the distances between them to the properextcnt, when once more the devices come into play in elevating the belt.

. the arms G.

In the drawings, the arms Gare represented as being movable. Their inner ends are pro vided with a collar or circular rim that surrounds the hub of the spider, as shown in Fig. 5. The disks D are provided with curved slots 0, through which pass studs or pins r on The slots edetermine the range of movement of the arms G. Springs 7), fastened to the arms G and to the disks D, serve to hold the arms so that thepins gwill normally be in the end of the slots farthest from the next arm, F. The operation of contracting and expanding the spider-arms will therefore be as follows: Suppose the spider to be in the position shown in Fig. 4, where it is acting to hold the belt off the pulley. The radiating arms will then all be substantially equidistant from each other. Now, suppose the spider is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 4. In this rotation the arm G will strike a stop,d, placed in its path of movement by being secured to some suitable object and projecting close to the periphery of the disk. The stop will bar the further progress of the arm G, but the disks will continue their rotation until the farther end of the slot 0 has come in contact with the pin 9 and the spring I) has been extended. The arms will now be huddled together sufficiently to lie easily between the upper and lower portions of the driving-belt and out of contact therewith, as shown in Fig. 3. \Vhen the spider is moved out of this position to take its place beneath the belts again, the springs b will pull the arms G into position, where all the arms will be equidistant, as before. In carrying out my invention, however, it becomes necessary to devise means for slackening the belt, so that the spider may have opportunity to lift it from the pulley, for the elasticity ofthe bcltis insufficient to permit the spider with its rollers to pass beneath it and remove it from contact with the pulley-face. It is obvious that very many different devices may be employed for the purpose. I have here shown two ways to serve as examples.

In Fig. 1. the machine to be driven is set upon a sliding frame, J, which is arranged to be moved to and fro by a lever, J, and held in any desired position by a pawl and ratchet, 0. Thus when the operator wishes to stop the machine he throws up the pawl 0 out of engagement with the ratchet and then lays hold of and operates the lever J and the hand-wheel i simultaneously, and hence loosens the belt at the same time that the spider operates thereon to elevate it.

Another method of loosening and tightening the belt is shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 6. Upon the shaft I is placed a threaded sleeve, K, which is adjustable to any point upon the shaft, and is held in place by suitable setscrews. A nut, M, is placed upon the sleeve and is threaded to correspond with it. Pivotally suspended from a hanger, N, that is locatcd in any convenient position, is a vibrat ing lever, N, to the upper end of which is secured at right angles the frame 0, carrying at either end rollers 0 0, while the lower end of lever N is slotted to receive projecting pins on the nut M. The driving-belt B passes beneath one of the rollers o and above the other. Therefore, when the shaft I is revolved, the not ill will pass along on the sleeve K, causing the lever N to vibrate and carry one of the rollers up and the other down in such a manner as to slacken the belt or to tighten it, the loosening and tightening of the belt being correspondent with its shiftin Fig. 2 shows the position of the tightening device when the belt is loosened and off the pulley. Fig. 3'

shows its position when the belt is tightened and on the pulley.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a beltshifter, a rotary spider located adjacent to the driving-pulley, the extremities of its radial arms being provided with devices adapted to pass beneath the belt and lift the 0 same from the pulley, and certain of said arms being movable relatively to the others, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In a belt-shifter, the rotary spider composed of arm-carrying disks located on each 5 side of the driving pulley, and having the extremities of each pair of oppositely-located arms suitably connected, one pair of arms being movable relatively to the others to permit the arms to be supported at the proper time rco between the upper and lower portions of the driving-belt, in combination with devices for rotating the spiders and for adjusting the movable arms, substantially as described.

3. In a belt-shifter, the combination of the with a gear, a, on one of the disks for the purr10 pose of rotating the spider, and suitable devices for loosening and tighteningthe belt correspondingly with the operation of the spider, all substantially as shown and described.

4. In a belt-shifter, the combination of the rotary spider consisting of two disks, D, and radial arms secured to said disks, the oppositely-located arms of the disks being connected, and certain pairs of arms, as G, being movable relatively to the others,the worm-shaft I,

meshing with gear a on one of the disks, and

suitable loosening and tightening mechanism for the belt, substantially as described.

5. In a belt-shifter, a rotary spider consisting of disks D, having slot 0, the radial arms E F G,sccurcd to said disks and connected by rods II, carrying rollers II, one of said arms, as G, being movable, having a projecting pin that enters the slot 0, and held in position in said slot by spring I), in combination with a I30 stop, (1, arranged to serve substantially as described.

6. Jointly with a beltshifter consisting of shaft I, which causes the spider to revolve, a spider whose arms lift the belt from the pulsubstantially as described. 1 1o ley, the belt loosening mechanism whereby In testimony whereof I affix my signature in such lifting is permitted, which consists of a presence of two witnesses.

5 vibratory vertical lever, N, pivoted to a suit- J AMES CANNING.

able hanger, N, and having frame 0, with Vitnesses: rollers o 0, that act upon the belt, said lever MELVILLE E. SMILIE, being connected with and operated by the \VALTER E. BARNEY. 

